Life's Final Punchline
by DarthLexxor
Summary: It's funny how much one little difference can make. Really, downright hilarious. Or, maybe it will be? It sure was not fun for Jared Ponch, Margot Ponch, or Bruce wayne. But who knows, they say that pain makes for the best comedy...


**Ooh boy. Another wacky tale coming at you guys. This has been a brain child that I got when talking with a friend about Batman. See he wants to see a story where Batman mentally breaks, while keeping his rule. I got an idea for a more Heath Ledger joker story. See in my opinion, Heath Ledger's joker is a man who uses how his mind is broken to his advantage. But he is always in control. I have done what I could to give a more "comic book" version of that character. I hope you enjoy.**

**I own nothing save for my plot and my oc beginnings to the classic characters owned by DC.**

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_*clk*Crime continues to rise in Gotham with another tragedy-*clk*_

_*clk*Another orphanage has reached max capacity. Without the generosity of the Waynes I don't know what we would do-*clk*_

_*clk*Detective Jim Gordon received another medal today for bravery in the line of duty-*clk*_

_*clk*Can't shake that holiday weight? Then-*clk*_

_*clk*Organized crime continues to rise, as more and more reports of the mysterious "Colony" emerge-*clk*_

_*clk* I'm standing here on a truly tragic anniversary. Twenty years ago the "Parent Killer" would take the lives of two hard working Gotham families. Five years later, this monster would take two of our most shining stars, Thomas and Martha Wayne. The three children left behind are no doubt aware of this dark memorial, so our hearts go out to those children tonight, and hope that wherever they are, they have have found some happiness.-*clk*_

* * *

Gritting his teeth at the mention of tonight's anniversary, the aged man turned the television off, and stood up. His pale skin catching the fluorescent lights of the splendid office. Bald head gleaming in the light as he made his way to the window. He always did love the nights in Gotham. The inky black sky contrasting with the grey smog in the air. But if you got above the smog, the stars shined ever on. He was one of those stars, as his parents had been before him, and theirs before them.

The Pennywise family was one of Gotham's best kept secrets, and for good reason. Their vast wealth had been very carefully used to disappear over two centuries prior after some sham of a trial named them traitors for siding with their true government! Now their last descendant stood smiling above the masses from the middle of Gotham. Wayne tower. The shining beacon of Gotham. The elderly man smiled as he stared out, not worrying about being seen. _Afterall, when in darkness no one looks at who points the light._ The thin aging man turned from the window and sat at the large desk in the office. Pulling the first of the various files on his desk, his sinister smile grew. Lucius Fox was a miracle worker and had again met a 'defense contract' far ahead of schedule; the new craft Fox had created would free his enforcer drastically from his previous time constraints. With a predatory gleam in his eyes he looked to his other files to see who had made their payment and who would need educating.

* * *

_*BANG**BANG*_

_The sound of gunfire and screeching tires stained the stillness of the night. Before the man and woman had even hit the ground the assassin's car was long gone. As the assassin's looked at each other they felt the pit in their stomach grow. Their night was not yet over,and as they pulled up to their next two targets home, the trepidation grew._

_Silently picking the lock and ghosting in the small home the two quickly found their targets. A young boy was curled around a younger girl, holding on to her as if to promise her nothing would happen. Looking to her partner, the female assassin turned and left the room. Her partner tried to steel his nerves, but he too eventually walked out of the two children's room. Hand in hand the two left the home and returned to an irate employer._

* * *

_Three people walked down a dark alley in the quiet night. A father, reassuring his son that fear made you human, not weak. A mother, assuring the boy that she hadn't wanted to stay anyways. Then the infamous sounds…._

_*BANG* The father dropped. The mother screamed. The boy stared in horror._

_*BANG* The Mother dropped. Her blood intermixing with her husbands, as if reaching out to him one last time. The boy screamed now. Another boy, about the same age, came out of the darkness of the alley. Carrying a rifle. _

_He looked the other boy in the eyes as he asked "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"_

_The boy just screamed. Hitting the screaming boy in the head with the rifle, the other boy smiled as the son fell into his parent's blood. Pulling out the switchblade he had brought, he began his work. When he was done, he smiled. Just like the boy's parents would….forever….._

* * *

Pennywise frowned at one particular file. Jared Ponch. Jared had inherited his parent's debt after they refused to pay and had to be….. Removed. Had everything gone to plan, Jared and his sister would have been as well, but there were complications. His enforcers tragic deaths five years later also prevented his removal of the boy. Since the boy's taking on of the debt,he had never missed a payment, and had even been somehow making enough to put his sister through college. This infuriated Pennywise. This and the boy's complete lack of respect. The little twit had the gall to 'inform' him, exactly what would happen if the boy's sister was harmed. As if he had a say. Suddenly a wicked grin covered the man's face. _It was time to make a phone call…_

* * *

As a gaunt man opened the door to the abandoned chemical plant, he steeled his nerves. Fingers around the cold steel of his father's revolver, he vowed that this ridiculous debt would be over tonight, one way or another. Selina had tried to warn that he needed to think first but he hadn't listened. Pennywise had Margot. His…. well who knew what she was, save for self interested, had tried to warn him against his current plan even more. Again, he hadn't listened. Making his way to the catwalks they were supposed to meet at, he yelled out "PENNYWISE! I'M HERE. AS PROMISED. NOW WHERE IS MY SISTER!"

A dark chuckle made him spin and pull his gun on this new arrival, only for the man to knock the gun away and proceed to attack the gaunt man. The armored black mass moved like a ghost. Gliding in and out of range, Jared felt his left wrist crack followed by his blow after crushing blow landed, dropping the thing man to the ground. Eventually, when he could no longer rise, his armored atracker rolled him over so that he could see who had beaten him. The Bat was well known as a myth haunting Pennywise's enemies, and now the gaunt man knew he existed.

"**Poor, poor, poor Jared. Always so brave, yet never knowing when to bow. Did you really think you had earned an audience with Gotham's uncrowned king?"**

"*cough* Can't *cough* blame a guy for trying?"

"**Actually I can. You see that's why I'm here. You missed a payment."**

"I was going to pay it off. I have always gotten your boss his money."

"**Then where is it?"**

"I don't have it with me. I kinda panicked when I found out you took my sister!" He punctuated his sentence by spitting on The Bat, and received a vicious kick to his now completely broken ribs, which rolled him over.

"**You see what I mean? This is exactly why Master Pennywise is done with you.**"

The dark robotic voice failed to hide the man's excitement at what would happen. Jared struggled to get up, afraid of what would happen to Margot if he failed. Only for The Bat to place his boot on his back and push him back to the ground. "**Nonono. Just stay down. I know why you're afraid. But don't worry, Master Pennywise is quite merciful. Your parents had to die for their refusal to pay their debt. You however really did try your best, so don't worry about your dear sister." **

Then leaning close he turned off his voice filter "Who knows, maybe Gotham's golden boy will sweep her off her feet." The voice of Bruce Wayne filled Jared with rage and he tried to get up, only for Bruce's armored hand to grab him by the neck. Picking Jared up like it was nothing, he held him a few inches off the ground. "Aww did I touch a*CRACK*"

Bruce dropped Jared and clutched at his face. Jared tried to limp away but he knew he had broken something in his foot. When Bruce had picked him up he had waited for Bruce to turn him and gloat, when he had, he had kicked him in his armored jaw. A look at Bruce showed his surprise was over. As he spit out a tooth his face contorted with rage. Grabbing Jared, he picked him up again, and began punching him in the face. After the seventh crushing blow Jared felt himself start to slip into the darkness and began mentally apologising to his sister, before suddenly Bruce stopped. Forcing his swelling eyes to open for a look at his tormentor turned his stomach. He was smiling. It was now missing a canine tooth on the bottom left side of his jaw, and the rest of his teeth had the faint red of blood on them, but it was a smile nonetheless.

The voice synthesizer must have been damaged as well as it faded in and out with a horrible static. "**Oh** I thi**nk yo**u will r**egr**et **that.**" Pulling out a sharpened piece of metal shaped like a bat he asked "**You e**ver dan**ce wit**h the devi**l in the p**ale moo**nligh**t?" Seeing the panic in Jared's eyes he chuckled. Holding him down he took the sharp metal and with two slashes, gave Jared the same smile he had found his parents with. Grabbing Jared by the collar he dragged him to the edge of the catwalk. A look towards the sealed chemical vats gave him an idea, and he flung an explosive towards the lid. The explosion blew a jagged hole in the lid and set off a reaction in the now bubbling chemicals.

As Jared watched he saw the vat switch from red to purple to green before he felt himself be lifted and thrown over the edge. However, his back caught on the edge and the jagged metal impaled him. As he felt his life start to slip away, he was jarred by a hook imbedding it self in his shoulder. The bat had fired some kind of wired hook into his shoulder/ A horrific tug from the hook pulled him off of the metal and into a pain unlike anything he had ever felt, as the horrible chemicals seeped into his wounds, nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. As he felt his nerves burn he heard the muffled blaring of alarms, and with a smile he realized how much it sounded like laughter as he faded away…

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**And just like that, another Story has begun. I do feel that this feels a tad rushed, but I mean come on, you're all here for the joker, not my oc's!**

**Lol anyways, I hope you enjoyed. If so, shoot me a pm. If not... Shoot me a pm! It's the only way to grow!**


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